Lift device for doors



March 3, 1942.

V. WILLCUGHBY LI'FT DEvIcE'FoR nooRs Filed June 8, 1939 Patented Mar. 3, 1942 amsn LIFT DEVICE FOR DOORS Victor Willoughby,`Ridgewood, N. J., assigner to American Car and Foundry Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey appui-,ation June s, 1939, serial No. 277,977

(o1. irs-99) 4. Claims.

This invention relates to lift devices for doors in general and in particular to sliding doors of the type used on railway freight cars.

The majority of lift devices now used in connection with sliding freight car doors lift the entire weight of the door and are extremely expensive due to the necessity of interconnecting the lift devices at either edge of the door. It is an object, therefore, of the present invention to provide a simple lift device which nee raise but half the door weight.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a lift device for sliding doors having a minimum of moving parts.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a lift and locking arrangement for sliding doors in which the door may be positively lifted by applying force in either direction to the mechanism and which will positively lock the door against sliding upon release of pressure from the mechanism.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent to persons skilled in the art from a study of the following description and accom pany drawing, in which Figure 1 is an elevational view of a portion of a sliding door with parts of the lift mechanism broken away to more clearly disclose the construction Fig. 2 is a sectional View taken substantially on the transverse center line of the liftdevice;

Fig. 3 is an elevational View similar to Figure l but showing the device in door lifted position;

Fig. 4 is a sectional View similar to Fig. 3 but showing a slight modification of the roller housing, and

Fig. 5 is a plan View of the track shown in Fig. 4.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, it will be seen that the lift device has been applied to a more or less conventional sliding door having forward stile 2 joined to bottom rail 4 and to a door panel S. In the present instance the door rail is of angular form having an inturned lower flange 8 joined by a web portion I0 to an outwardly directed horizontal ledge l2 which is in turn provided with an angular upwardly and inwardly deflected top portion I4 which is attached to the main door panel. Roller housings IB and i8 are located respectively adjacent the forward and rear edges of the door with the rear housing being made plain and having journaled therein roller 2i) adapted to at all times support a portion of the door weight upon the track T.

The forward roller housing I 6 is formed preferably of a single casting having end walls 22 joined together by inner and outer side walls 24 and by a top wall 26. The lower edge of the inner side wall is formed with an inwardly directed flange 28 terminating in a downwardly directed reflange portion 3G adapted to prevent outward movement of the housing relative to the track. The outer side wall is of such an extent as to overlap the outer face of the track, while its upper end is extended as at 32 in order to receive rivet bolt or other means Sil extending through the outer wall extension and the angular portion i4 of the bottom rail. The inner surface of eachof the inner and outer side walls of the housing are formed with projecting ledges 36 formed to provide double inclines converging to a point below the rivet bolt or other connecting means 34. These projecting ledges are, as clearly shown in the figures, of inverted V formation and provide what may be considered cam surfaces along which the ends of roller axle 40 may slide or roll. The axle extends through the forward supporting roller or other antifriction means 4Z and through spaced arms M formed on the lower end of an operating handle 46. The operating handle, as clearly shown, extends upwardly through an opening in the upper wall of the roller housing and is formed with an elongated slot 48 adapted to permit sliding of the operating handle relative to the securing means 34 previously referred to. It will thus be seen that by applying pressure to the operating handle in either direction the ends of the roller axle may either slide or roll along the inclined ledges thereby causing the door to be lifted. Due to the lift of the door the elongated slot in the operating handle is necessary in order to compensate for the difference in distance between the roller axle lll) and the pivot or securing means 34.

Normally, the friction between the flange 2B and the track, together with the friction between the end walls and the track, is sufficient to retain the door against sliding but in order to positively insure that the door will not move, the track may be provided with notches 52 cut therein in order to provide spaced lugs 5G (Fig. 5) In case this type track is used lugs 56 are cast or welded to the flange 28 of the roller housing and adapted to engage between the lugs of the track, thereby positively preventing any shifting of the door.

While the lift device has been described more or less in detail, it will be obvious that various modifications and rearrangements of parts maybe made without departing from the scope of the following claims which define the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a lift device for car doors the combination of a roller housing secured to the door, a roller positioned within the housing, an operating handle having the lower part positioned within the housing, an axle connecting said roller and the lower part of said operating handle, inverted V shaped ledges formed on said roller housing above said roller axle and along which said axle moves in lifting the door, and pivot means slidably connecting said handle and housing for relative sliding movement and providing a fulcrum for said handle during movement of said axle along said inverted V-shaped ledges.

2. In a lift device for car doors the combination of a roller housing secured to the door, a roller positioned within the housing, an -operating means extending into said housing and slidably and rotatably connected thereto, axle means connecting said operating means and roller together, and inverted V shaped means formed on said roller housing above said roller axle means, said axle means moving in contact with said inverted V shaped means under control of said handle to lift the door.

3. In a lift device for car doors the combination of a roller housing secured to the door, a roller positioned within the housing, an operating means extending into said housing and slidably and rotatably connected thereto, axle means connecting said operating means and roller together, and downwardly inclined surfaces formed on said housing above said axlemeans and along which surfaces said axle means moves to lift the door during rotation of said operating means in either direction.

4. In a lift device for car doors the Combination of a roller housing secured to the door, a roller positioned within the housing, an operating handle having the lower part positioned within the housing, an axle connecting said roller and the lower part of said operating handle, inverted V shaped ledges formed on said roller housing above said roller axle and along which ledges said axle moves to lift the door, an elongated slot formed in said operating handle, and pivotmeans extending through said slot and through parts of said housing, said pivot means providing a fulcrum for said handle to cause movement of said axle along said ledges.

VICTOR WILLOUGHBY. 

